The Southern herald., 1887-10-08
Aaour HoRsEMANsHlP.
O0alaoh, Turconan, Engliah ana America
Styles of Equ6strianisms


COaaaol,, Turconan, lingliHli ana American
Styles of Equ6strianiam,
Saddles are almost as various in
form and structure as the races Of men
who use horses, and so are styles Of
riding and the man who dogmatizes
about his own saddle and style runs
the risk Of being brought to shame.
Nothing, for instance, can differ moro
from a cowboys seat and saddle than
a COssack's or Turcoman's. The cow
boy sits straight!legged on his fork. In
what is called "tongs on a wall"
fashion, in a high-peaked saddle, with
his toes stuck out Tho Cossack or
Turcoman sits as fiat as If he were in a
chair, his leg forming right angle at
the knee and his feet exactly parallel
with the horse's side. All three are
superb riders, whether it be for stick
ing on, or getting over rough ground,
or making long marches, or fighting,
or running away. If you argue with
a Turcoman that he ought not to sit
in a fiat saddle, with such
short stirrups, but geta Whitman and
stick his legs out, like Captain Cod
man. he would not laugh, because
that is not his style, but he would in-
wardly set you down as an idiot, be-
sides being an infdel.
THERE'S also much nonsense talked
about the propriety or improperly Of
rising or "bobbingGp and down" in
the saddle during the trot when max
ing q journey, and occasionally a
"True American writes to the news
papers some sad drivcl on the subject
as protest against the Anglomaniao
dudes who bob up and down on
banged horses in the park. On the
subject Captain Goldman, too, appears
to have been led astray. If you use
an English saddle it is simply cruelty
to the horse not to rise in trotting on
long ride, especially in the case of a
heavy weight. In an English saddle
the rider sits well behind his stirrups,
which are rather short, a fashion ap-
preaching closely to the Asiatic seat,
and if he tries to sit close during the
trot he strikes the horse a catapultiC
blow at every stride in the tendercst
portion of the animals back. When
he rises, on the contrary, he descendS
gently, and he keeps his
weight steady Oh the horse by
throwing it into the stirrups when his
hinder parts arc in the air. The prin-
ciplc Of the thing is the fact illustrated
by tho Jockeys practice Of standing in
his stirrups during race and the Cos
sacks or Arabs during q charge. In
both cases what is sought is to avoid
pounding the horse with a one hun
dred and fifty pound mallet when tho
poor animal is trying to move at a
regular trot or gallop.
In military, or Mexican, or Whit.
RAN saddle the circumstances are
wholly different. The rider stands
straight-legged in his stirrups when
the horse is trotting and keeps his
weight on them and at the same time
accommodates himself to the horses
motion by an up-and-dowu spring Of
the foot. In other words he has nc
occasion to rise, and does not come
down on the horse with bang There
is probably nothing about which wide
observation is more necessary to make
people talk sensibly than about horse
manship. Every nation which rides in
the saddle has its own system, and for
that nation its own brides, saddles,
bits and seats are the best in the
world. The man who sets about dis
putting this runs great risk, as we have
said. Of being brought 10 shame. M
y EVening Post.